Outage rule



Jan. 7, 1930. l

H. H. HoEvEL OUTAGE RULE 'Filed Feb.- 9, 1924 .N @MN 20 on an enlarged scale, taken on Patented Jan. 7, 1930 UNITED STATES HUGO H. I-IOEVEL, OF OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA f oUTAGE RULE v `Application led February 9, 1924.` Serial No. 691,851.

My invention relates to outage rules and particularly to rules of a type that are constructed for use in measuring the outage of tanks carried by tank cars. Y

j Some of the principal objects of my invention are to provide a rule that is simple and inexpensive, and one that may be easily manipulated, so that the outage of a tank may be quickly measured therewith.

parent from'the following description taken Vin connection-with the drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a front view, of an outage rule .u .15 embodying my invention, a part of the ruley being broken away;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged rear view of a portion of the rule;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the same the line 3+3 of Fig. 1; and p Fig. 4 is a view illustrating the application of a rule embodying my invention to the inea-surement of the outage of a tank.

Referring to the drawing, 10 designates the gage bar or stick of the outrageru'le, which is graduated in inches and fractions of an inch, or some other convenient unit of measurement. The bar 10 is rectangular in transmay, of course, be of some other suitable material, such as metal. The lower or zero end of the bar 10V has an arm -11 of metal or other suitable material secured to it by the screws 12, 12. .The arm 11 is rigid and eX- tends laterally perpendicularly of the bar a suitable distance, and7 in taking the measure! ment, is for the purpose of touching the sur- Vface of the liquid in the tank.. The `arm 11 .40 projects from the graduated edge of the bar,

Vwhich is the upper edge when the rule is held4 in position to be read, the arm being of such length that it will also serve as a level to position the bar 10 perpendicular to the surface of the liquid. e

A slider 14 is frictionally connected to the bar 10 above the arm 11 and projects laterally of the bar 10 in a direction opposite to that of the arm 11, so that it will not be disposed j termediate the ends of the bar 10,V so that the slider longitudinally'of the.. bar.

proved construction is such that there will verse section, and is preferably of wood, but i kin vertical alignment with the arm l1., and

.therefore will not obstructthe view of the lat` ter when a measurement is being taken, as

lwill be apparent from an inspection of Fig- Y ure 4. The slider 14 is wholly disposed inend of thelatter opposite the one carrying the arm 11 may project a distance4 above the slide and serveas a handle to manipulate the "rule; The above and other objects and the novel features of my invention will be ap-V Vits ends, the doubled portions being disposed parallel to each other but spaced apart by a kblock ofwood 16 or suitable material that is disposed between the outer ends of` the U-shaped strip and secured theretoby rivets 17 Theblock 16 occupies only `a portion of the space between thelimbs of the. U-'shape strip, leaving an opening 18 therebetween through which the bar 10 is slidable. 70 The lbar 10 and slider 14 are slidable relatively to each other in either direction when pressure is applied to either the bar or the The imalways be sufficient friction between the bar 10 and slider 14, so that the slider will not accidentally move or slide down the bar, due to its own weight, after a measurement has been made. Suitable means may be provided forV adjustingor increasing the friction between the bar and slider as the contacting surfaces of these two parts become worn. I provide a suitable device for this purpose which consists of-a friction spring 19, preferablyaiiat resilient strip of metal, one of the liat faces of which engages one edge of the bar 10. The spring 19 is relatively free at one end,'lwhich is slightly turned up, and .near its opposite end it is secured to the inside of theslider, as by a screw 20 to the inner face of a block 21 of wood or suitable material. The block 21 is disposed betweenl the limbs of the U-shape member 15 and secured to the edge or bent portion 23 Athereof by a screw 24, The block 21 and the spring 19 carried by it` project along the edge of the bar 10 beyond one'edge of the slider. The projecting portion of the block 21 carries an adjusting thumb screw 25 l that is threaded .100

usual form of horizontally disposed cylin-f di'ical shell or tank T mounted on a tank car, there is a ledge L within the dome D.

The erson taking the measurement stands on the tank, preferably on aplatforin atthe ities oftanks.

point X, near the outer side Vof the vdome adjacent to the portion of the vledge upon which the slider of the rule is Ato be supported.- Suitable means may be provided to cooperate with the graduated bar to indicate the outage in accordance with the relative` positions of the slider 14 and arm ll. As shown, theedge 27 of the slider may .constitute such indicating means and be the reading edge, and the supporting edge 28 of the slider may be offset from the edge 27l sufficiently to compensate for the thickness of the metal vof the ledge, which is the same as that of the tank. Therefore, the measuring edge 2'? coincides with the inner surface of the tank when therule is in measuring position, as shown in Fig. Ll.

After the rule vhas been inserted through the openings O and ligand the slider has been set on afixed abutment or on the ledge L, as shown', the bar 10 is pushed downwardly against the friction between the slider-and bar,until the arm 1l touches the surface of the liquid A. Inasmuch as the slider 14 and arm l1 extend from opposite edges of the bar 10, the view of the arm 1l will beunobstructed and a very accurate setting of the rule may be made quickly. Aftert-he setting has been made, the rule is removed, the Slider in the meantime retaining its set position, because of the frictional connection between these parts, such frictional means automatically acting to bind the slider to the bar 10 in any one of the adjusted positions of the slider along the bar.` j Y After the reading has been made the rule is turned about its longitudinal axis and the readi'ngis compared with a table B/,on the reverse side Jof. the rule vwhich gives thegallons outage 'for the particular measurement obtained and for tanks of different. capacities. lrlhus, the gallons outage kmay Vbe vquickly and very accurately` determined. ln

fthe tableillustrated the calculated. outages rang-effrom l@ inch to 3 inches dry outage `measurement are for standardA cylinf drical .tanks ranging from 4,23lgallons capacity to 10,000 gallons capacity. It will, of course,.be clear that by extending the calculations the table may beenlarged to any, de- ,siredranges of outages in inches and capac- The yparticular 'outage Erule I lhave disclosed bar `to indicate the outage.

is well adapted for measuring small amounts of outage and the dimensions of the same as shown in Fig. l, for instance, are substantially one-lialf full size. However, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited `toany particular size or shape of the parts, because these and other features may be niodifiedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

l. An outage rule for measuring the outage of tanks and the like, comprising a graduated bar, a member secured to said bar at one end Vthereof fork adjustment to the surface of the contents of a tank, a slider carriedby said bar between the ends of the latter and projecting laterally therefrom above 'and out of vertical alignmentwith said member whereby a clear` view may be had of the latter to enable adjusting it to said surface, said slider com-5y prising means cooperating with the graduated portion of said bar to' indicate the outage, said bar with said member thereon being movable relatively to said slider when the V latterY is set in stationary position in engagement with a fixed abutment on the tank, and

means automatically cooperating with said bar and said slider to retain the latter in' any one of its adjusted positions.

2. An outage rule for measuring the outage of tanks and the like, comprising a 4graduated bar, an arm rigidly secured to and projecting perpendicularly from said bar at one end thereof for touching or adjustment to the surface of the vcontents of a tank, and aslider'l carried by said bar, said slider being entirely disposed between the ends 'of said bar and projecting laterally therefrom'above and in a direction opposite to said yarm whereby said slider is disposed out of vertical alignment with said arm and a clear view may be had of the latter from above ltoenable'adju'sting it accurately to said surface, said bar with said arm thereon being movablerelatively to said slider when the latter is set in stationary -position in engagement with a fixed abutment or part Vof the tank tofmake a measurement,

and frictionalmeans wherebyjsaid slider -is automatically reta-ined against accidental displacement `fromits adjusted position after a measurement, said" slider having means cooperatingwith the graduated portion of said 3.' A rule adapted'forinside measurements of tanks andthe like comprising a'graduated bar having means at one end thereof for adjustment l tothe surface from'w'hich the measurement is to be made, 'and a slidercarried by said vbar'in'termediate the yends Vthereof and projecting laterally therefrom, said bar with said means being movable 'relativly tosaid slider when 4the vlatter `is set in engagement ment from its adjusted position after a measurement, and the lower edge of said slider having a portion adapted to engage said abutment and an oifset portion adapted to substantially coincide with the inner surface of said tank and also to cooperate with the graduated portion of said bar to indicate the measurement.

4. An outage rule for measuring the outage of tanks and the like, comprising a graduated bar, an arm secured to and projecting perpendicularly from said bar at one end thereor` for touching the surface of the Acontents of a tank, and a slider carried by said barand projecting laterally therefrom above and out of vertical alignment with said arm whereby a clear view may be had of the latter to enableV adjusting it accurately to said surface, said bar with said arm being movable relativelj7 to said slider when the latter is set in position against a wall of said tank to make a. measurement, means between said bar and slider cooperating to retain the latter against accidental displacement from its adjusted position on the bar after a measurement, and the lower edge of said slider having a portion adapted to engage the outer surface of the tank wall and also having al portion oii'set Jfrom said first-mentioned portion a distance substantially equal to the thiclmess of said wall and adapted to cooperate with the graduated portion of said bar to indicate the measp urement.

In testimony whereof he aiixes his signature. A

HUGO H. I-IOEVEL. 

